A Challenge
by downpours
Summary: MisakiXTsubasa. In a dark room, the two close friends are met with a challenge that neither are willing to back down from. There should be more of this coupling.


**A Challenge**

"Tsubasa, if you're going to do it, do it right!" Said an aggravated voice. The pink-haired Misaki crossed her arms and shot her best friend a glare. "That's supposed to be painted blue, not orange!"

"Well, I don't want to do it at all." Tsubasa whined, dropping the paintbrush back into the pail. He stepped off the stool and sat down on it, burying his face into his arms as he leaned over a table. He had a goofy look on his face as he said, "I'm so tired! I thought Mikan was supposed to head back here and help us?"

"She was." Misaki replied with a sigh. "But she never does come back in time anyway. It's quite ironic, since she's the one so hyped up during the festivals."

Tsubasa nodded, burying his head further into his arms. Misaki raised her eyebrow curiously; she couldn't tell if he was faking tired, or he was really tired in the first place. With a sigh, the teenager with the doppelganger Alice sat down beside him. He peered at her from the corner of his face, speculating.

"Fine, let's rest for awhile." Misaki shrugged.

"You mean _I'll_ rest for awhile." Tsubasa replied. "You did nothing but boss me around."

"It's not my fault!" She retorted. "You're doing everything wrong."

Tsubasa chuckled, returning her playful smile with his own cheerful expression. It was already dark outside, and they were the only ones left in the Special Ability type classroom. Everyone else had gone off to his or her dorms, but the two decided to stay, since the deadline was fast approaching. Mikan had volunteered enthusiastically to help out too, but she still wasn't back.

They stayed in silence for a long time, and Misaki wondered if Tsubasa was already asleep.

"Man, you lazy idiot." Misaki sighed. She reached over and playfully ruffled his hair, resulting in a groan from the young boy. He _hated _it when she messed up his hair. Well, at least now she knew he was awake. "It's getting dark."

Tsubasa looked up and around the room. "It _is_ dark."

They hadn't realized that the sun was gone already, and the whole room was enveloped in shadows now. Just how long were they actually sitting there? They hadn't turned the lights on before because there was no need, but now that it was dark, all they could see were the vague features of the room.

"Turn the lights on." Misaki ordered.

"You do it."

"No, you do it."

"I'm too tired!" Tsubasa whined.

With a sigh, Misaki stood up in defeat. She motioned to walk over to the other end of the classroom to turn on the switch when her foot suddenly got caught in what felt like a pail.

"A-ahh!" Screamed the pink-haired girl as she fell forward in the dark. She brought her hands in front of her, ready to crash into whatever was there. A painful yelp from Tsubasa was heard as Misaki landed on him, pushing him backwards from where he was seated.

"Ouch!" Tsubasa groaned while massaging his head. "Misaki, what the hell!" He sat up straight, looking down at his best girl friend that was massaging her forehead. He raised his eyebrow and held her shoulders, helping her to sit up straight, too.

"Sorry, geez!" Replied Misaki. "It's not my fault, who put that there anyway?"

Tsubasa shrugged as Misaki regained her balance, and she looked up at him with a frown. Her pink bangs tickled Tsubasa's chin, emitting a wince from the boy as his cheeks went red. It wasn't the first time that he reacted this way, and Misaki knew that.

He looked down at her again, a bit hesitatingly. Everything about her intoxicated him. The frown on her mouth was so cute—the way it's curves looked so mischievous, the reddish color on her lips, and natural tinge on her cheeks… and the fact that her uniform was drooping down, giving him a good view of her chest.

The two of them were very close to each other, and they didn't have a problem with that. They acted just like any other pair of best friends, with a few benefits. For example, when there was a dance, they didn't have to go through the trouble of looking for a date. They automatically had each other.

Having a girl best friend had its benefits indeed, and Tsubasa was thankful for that. Although, every thing has it's up and downs, and Tsubasa knew the negative parts indeed. For example, he knew four words that are very familiar to everyone there. They were four words that would affect a lot of people, including Tsubasa.

'_Stupid raging teenage hormones._' Tsubasa complained in his mind as Misaki looked up at him curiously. She was too close—to close for comfort. He inhaled sharply.

Bad move. His teenage mind went even more haywire as he took in her sweet scent of strawberries.

"You alright? You're all red." Misaki asked him. She brought up a hand to his forehead. "Maybe you really did get too tired. And I thought you were just acting like a baby."

'_Quick, say something witty, like you always do!' _His voice said loudly in his mind.

As soon as he opened his mouth, all that came out was a "Uh, yeah."

'_That is NOT what I told you to say.'_

"Let's go to the clinic." Misaki told him, as she got ready to stand up.

"No, I'm alright, you idiot!" Tsubasa said quickly, grabbing her wrist to stop her. She looked back at him and stood up anyway, putting out her other hand to gesture helping him up.

Tsubasa sighed and stood up by himself. She looked at him with a frown, putting her hands back to her sides.

"Are you _really_ alright?" Misaki asked for the nth time, striding really close to him. She put her face about an inch away from his, peering straight into his eyes. Misaki _always _did this, and it made Tsubasa wonder if she did it just for spite. Maybe she enjoyed seeing his hormones cause his face to erupt in a million shades of red.

"I am, Misaki!" Tsubasa replied, placing his hands on her shoulders and trying to push her away. "Geez, you act as if I'm a kid!"

"You certainly act like one."

He crossed his arms with a frown and started to head for the switch. Then he suddenly stopped short, realizing something. Wouldn't Misaki notice his scarlet face if he were to turn on the light?

"What's wrong now?" Misaki groaned.

"Nothing!"

Tsubasa heard a chuckle, and he turned around. He saw Misaki, grinning at him, her face illuminated by the moon's soft light.

"You afraid I'll see you blush?" She said in a teasing manner.

Tsubasa's face went even more scarlet. With a quick stride, he went over to her and pointed an accusing finger at her. Stammering, he said, "Y-you! Y-you knew! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

She shook her head. "Of course not! But I think it's cute that you pretend you're not attracted to me in any way."

Tsubasa groaned and rolled his eyes. Misaki could be _so_ confident at times.

He didn't used to be like this, and she also knew that. While they were growing up, it became worse, and nobody but Misaki noticed this. He could usually pull it off by acting normal, and they still talked to each other like a cat and dog, while everybody else knew they were the best of friends.

"It's not my fault, quit finding this funny!" Tsubasa battled as Misaki chuckled once more. "Everybody blushes once in a while! Besides, it's just hormones acting up. I'd act the same if every other girl got close to me!"

Misaki nodded, and opened her mouth. After a while, she shut it again and responded instead with a soft smile.

"What?" Said Tsubasa. "Spit it out."

The pink-haired girl sighed, and hesitated a bit, but she finally said, "It's okay that I stop playing stupid now, right? I mean I finally told you I noticed."

Tsubasa shrugged. "Who cares? Anyway, what're you going to do about it?"

"Absolutely nothing." She said, putting up a finger to emphasize her point. "Besides, you just think of me as one of your best friends, right? So why should I even trouble myself?"

Shrugging again, Tsubasa repeated, "Who cares?"

Misaki looked hurt by that reply. Even in the moonlight, Tsubasa noticed the creased frown that came upon her lips.

He quickly took it back. "I was just kidding, Misaki! Man, can't you take a joke?"

The pink-haired girl sighed. This was always how it went, right? It was always a joke. Fine then, if that's how things were going to be, then that's how it should be. Joking around was the core of their friendship since the day they met.

"Yeah, a joke!" Misaki replied quickly. "Besides, even if you did like me, you wouldn't have the guts to do anything."

There was silence, and Misaki's eyes widened as she realized what she implied.

"Repeat that?" Tsubasa challenged, getting closer to her. His face was still blushing, but he had a serious expression now. "I can get any girl I want, and you know that!"

"Of course not!" Misaki retorted, stepping back a bit. "Nobody outside the Special Ability's class even talks to you much."

Tsubasa blinked. She was right—it hurt, but she was right.

"Oh my God, Tsubasa, I'm sorry!" Misaki said quickly with a sheepish smile. "I didn't mean that!"

With a shrug, Tsubasa stepped closer to her. Instinctively, she stepped backwards. She found herself walking backwards while he moved closer to her, her face going red. This wasn't right; the situation had reversed. She gulped as her back suddenly hit the wall, and Tsubasa placed his hands on either side of her head, firmly planting them on the pavement.

"Who's blushing now, huh?" Tsubasa laughed softly.

Misaki had the sudden urge to punch him, but for some reason, she couldn't move. She could feel his warm breath on cheeks.

"Hypocrite." Tsubasa stated.

"Well… uh, this doesn't amount to anything." Misaki said with a crack in her voice. She had tried to say it out loud confidently but failed.

"Then just what _does_ amount to something, Misaki?" He smiled mischievously, bringing a hand down and gently massaging her flat stomach with his thumb. She winced; even through the thick cloth of her uniform, she could feel his thumb idly tickling her.

"Stop that!" Misaki ordered.

"Stop what, hypocrite?" Tsubasa chuckled.

With a frown, Misaki tried to push him away. She couldn't though. It was as if her brain couldn't tell her body to move. "Don't use your alice on me!"

Tsubasa blinked. He grinned widely and brought the hand that was on her stomach up to her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"But I'm not using it." He whispered, leaning over to suddenly giving her earlobe a quick flick of his tongue. Oh, he _was enjoying this._ Just as soon as he found out that she actually knew how her actions tormented his teenaged mind, he _wanted_ to get back at her.

Misaki tried to retort in the wittiest way possible, but certain things stopped her brain from functioning. One of these things was the warm mouth that suddenly enveloped over hers, nibbling on her lips and making her groan in defeat. Tsubasa's lips were the warmest and softest things she had ever felt, and she felt overwhelmed in every way.

Tsubasa's eyes widened as Misaki's knees suddenly buckled, probably losing control of her body completely. It broke the kiss as she fell forward, grasping the front of his uniform tightly.

"You alright?" Tsubasa asked her, holding her waist to support her.

"Yeah." Misaki mumbled, standing up straight. When he looked up at him, she was met by a sheepish smile from his face. "Sorry… h-hey!"

He laughed as he nibbled on her lower lip. He was obviously _not done_.

Misaki gasped as he trailed down, nibbling from her chin to her neck and down to her collarbone. It emitted a soft groan from Misaki's throat. She was the one who challenged him, but she didn't think it would come to this.

"Alright then… maybe you do have the guts, Tsubasa." Misaki whispered with a smirk. Tsubasa chuckled from her comment and tightened his grip around her waist and inhaled her sweet scent.

"Of course I do." Tsubasa replied. "I just didn't want to."

"What are you… _scared_?"

"Correct."

Misaki smiled to herself as her hands roamed on his back, gripping the thick cloth of his uniform. He was still nibbling on her collarbone, and she leaned down to plant a kiss on his forehead.

He looked up at her crossly. "What are you, my grandma?"

"Shut up." She replied, leaning down to bite his lower lip.

Suddenly, the door bust open.

"Misakiiii, Tsubaasaaaa!" Yelled Mikan's childish voice while she looked around quickly. The lights from the hallway streamed inside the room, revealing Tsubasa who quickly let go of Misaki and looked at Mikan with an embarrassed look. "Why's it so dark in here?"

"Mikan!" Misaki called out, standing up straight. Mikan reached up and turned on the light switch, bringing light to the whole room. Both of the girls heard Tsubasa gulp loudly as he pretended to stare out the window, his back to Mikan. "What are you doing here?"

Misaki tried to control her laughter as she peered at Tsubasa and the quite 'growing' problem he was having in the lower regions. Tsubasa hissed at her, "Stop it! It's not funny!"

"I'm here to help!" Mikan replied, waving her arms in the air.

"But… you're so late." Misaki replied softly, preparing a lie. "We were already planning to leave."

With a sad frown, Mikan nodded. "Okay, sorry!" She glanced over to Tsubasa who still had his back towards her. "Tsubasa, are you alright?"

"A-ah, yeah." Tsubasa replied with a worried tone, not even looking around to face Mikan.

Mikan blinked at Tsubasa's reply and looked at Misaki who suddenly smirked.

"Oh, he's fine." Misaki replied.

With a nod, Mikan waved goodbye and was about to step out the classroom. Before she closed the door, Misaki suddenly called out to her again. "Mikan!"

"Yeah?" Mikan tilted her head in question.

"Switch of the lights on your way out, will you?" Misaki smiled.

Mikan blinked as she noticed Tsubasa's sudden flinch of the shoulders. Without asking, she reached up and switched of the lights.

"Bye!" Mikan said brightly, shutting the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, both Misaki and Tsubasa sighed in relief.

"Okay, where were we?" Misaki whispered, putting a hand on Tsubasa's shoulder and making him turn around. He caught her lips in tight dominance to remind her just _where they were._

**_The End_**


End file.
